Indian Air Force Su-30 compeats with Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon in exercise

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• published: 07 Aug 2015
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Russian made Indian Air Force Su-30 MKI defeated British Royal Air force Euro fighter Typhoon in training exercise. Red-faced RAF ‘outgunned’ by Indian pilots flying Russian SU-30MKI Flanker jets in joint exercise. Indian Air Force pilots claim they outflew and outgunned their Royal Air Force (RAF) counterparts during a joint exercise held in the UK. The Indian pilots claim they outperformed the RAF’s Typhoon crews with their Russian made jets during an Indo-UK exercise named Operation Indradhanush, which was held over 10 days in Lincolnshire last month. The Indians are equipped with the Russian-designed SU-30MKI Flanker fighter. They claimed they won their dogfights by an impressive 12-0. An RAF source was quick to talk down the claims, telling the International Business Times, “Our analysis does not match what has been reported, RAF pilots and the Typhoon performed well throughout the exercise with and against the Indian Air Force. “Both [forces] learnt a great deal from the exercise and the RAF look forward to the next opportunity to train alongside the IAF.” Tony Osborne, the London bureau chief of Aviation Week, backed the RAF’s comments, telling the Independent, “These cricket-style scores claimed by the IAF look impressive but should be treated with caution and certainly not as a realistic gauge of combat capability. “We have to view these scores through the haze of pilot bravado, national pride and also some political correctness. “Nonetheless, the SU-30MKI is one of the aircraft that the Typhoon was designed to tackle and defeat, and no doubt in the right hands would present a potent challenge,” he acknowledged. Issues with the Typhoon have been raised in the past. In June, the UK’s influential National Audit Office (NAO) said that the multi-billion pound Typhoon training scheme, which was outsourced to a private consortium, was six years behind schedule. Auditors warned if the scheme is not brought up to speed it could leave the UK without properly trained aircrews. The Ascent contract, designed to be fulfilled by a consortium composed of defense firms Babcock International and Lockheed Martin, was intended to be running at full capacity by 2014. The NAO expects it will not be hitting its goals until 2019 at the current rate of progress. The scheme is for training pilots and crew to operate the Royal Navy’s Hellcat helicopters, the British Army’s Apache attack helicopters as well as the Royal Air Force’s Typhoon fighter jets. “Implementing the new flying training has been challenging,” NAO head Amyas Morse said. Su-30 MKIs are among the most advanced Russian-designed warplanes operated by a foreign military. They were developed and initially produced in Russia, but India started producing them in 2004 under a license. The Russian military ordered a domestic variant of the fighter based on the Indian version, replacing some equipment to comply with Russian Air Forces standards. The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918,[3] it is the oldest independent air force in the world.[4] Following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as – at the time – the largest air force in the world.[5] Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history, in particular, playing a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain.[6] The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed: to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government’s foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security."[1] The RAF describe its mission statement as "... [to provide] An agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission."[7] The mission statement is supported by the RAF's definition of air power, which guides its strategy. Air power is defined as: "The ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events."[8] Today the Royal Air Force maintains an operational fleet of various types of aircraft,[9] described by the RAF as being "leading-edge" in terms of technology.[10] This largely consists of fixed-wing aircraft, including: fighter and strike aircraft, airborne early warning and control aircraft, ISTAR and SIGINT aircraft, aerial refueling aircraft and strategic and tactical transport aircraft. The majority of the RAF's rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command in support of ground forces.